It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test – Elbert Hubbard

I came across a quote that can be considered a key factor or a key criteria for organisational growth. A quote by Elbert Hubbard that goes like:

It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test

Elbert Hubbard

To understand the importance of this statement, you need to understand the difficulty of finding and forming the right leader for an organisation’s growth.

Being a good leader is great and would impact the organisation greatly through his direct reports. However, a leader that can identifly great leadership skills in others, and help these direct reports advance and take leadership roles, will impact the organisation much more. A good leader will be able to find good leaders, and hence the importance of leaders finding the good potential leaders.

For most companies and startups, the structure of the organisation is what determin the success. Hence the true test every entrepreneur, CEO, or even manager, is to be able to find the employees with leadership potential.

This quote can apply to almost anything, it is what distinguish the good from the great.

A good cook can cook well, a great cook can discover and guide 10 good cooks.

A good artist can draw nice drawings, a great artist can discover and guide many other artists .

You get the idea. Being good is nice, but finding others that might also be good or even better is the true impact.